Avant-garde house
A drive-by site on campus gives artists an unexpected studio to display their work.
Photographs By Jaquan Alston
More than two decades ago, a small guard house was built on the southwestern section of campus on Sullivan Road near the Leopard Parking Deck. As the campus developed, the need for a security booth at that location changed, and the space remained vacant for years.
When Nestor Gil, professor of art and head of the art department, walked by it a number of times, he was drawn to the potential of the empty space. With a brick foundation, glass walls, and metal framing, he thought the unused guard house could be transformed into a place for artists to experiment and display their exhibitions.
Rebranded as gardeHouse, the name is rooted in French military origin: avant-garde meaning “advance guard,” serving as a link to the structure’s original purpose. The phrase, adopted into the art world to describe works that pushed new boundaries, would also be present in the themes of the various installations.
In 2016, conceptual artist Julia Buntaine was the first to take over the space: “Windows into the Mind,” which blended art and neuroscience. The next year, media artist Ghen Zando-Dennis would use specialty inks and spray paint on clear vellum, and drawings and images of waterways; halogen lights filled the house at night.
Even more installations would follow, rotating in and out of the gardeHouse, with passersby catching glimpses of new artwork upon entering or leaving campus. In October, the installation by Juliana Soldat ’24 marked the house’s 15th project. These displays have continued to be as vast as the artists who create them.
1.
Lily Dineen ’24 returned to campus in March and transformed the space into an “observation tank.” Images were made fuzzy with a texture of felt, a space always in motion, “festering in an environment when there is no room for separation.”
2.
Says Dineen: “In a cluttered space it is hard to decipher what is taking precedence in your life. The overwhelming presence of unfinished projects and accumulated nothings takes an unseen toll.”
3.
“Duuude (Shoot Your Shot)” was installed at the end of last year; alumna artist Emily Mackin ’24 used mesh, gauze, wire, darts, plastic, and packaging for a selfdescribed “unflinching” exhibit.
4.
Mackin, seen here, operated in a tight space: roughly a 6×6-foot or 8×8-foot interior.
5.
The gardeHouse is an opportunity for pop-up installations by visiting artists. Visual artist and photographer Lydia Panas from the Greater Lehigh Valley will have a fall exhibition, while multi-media artist Mark Creegan, professor of art at Florida State College, Jacksonville, will display his work in the spring.
